Kyokai no Ranma
by brown phantom
Summary: Crossover with Rinne. Ghosts, spirits, and the supernatural were as plain as day to Nabiki Tendo. But despite her wishes to stay out of it, a young boy and his black cat will force Nabiki to get more involved. Especially when that boy is Ranma Saotome, part-time shinigami.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

There was a lot of blood and shouting. So much shouting. That and the pain were what she noticed the most. But when she looked at herself she was fine.

'What happened?' She asked herself, uncertain why she remembered being so hurt yet not having a scratch on her. "Mama?" She looked around for her mother, but didn't see her. "Mama?" She called out again, getting scared. She was just a little girl after all, why wouldn't she be scared?

She was also in a place she didn't recognize, on a dirt path leading into a forest. Behind her there was just fog. In one of the bushes there stood a giant rabbit on two legs holding out a balloon. Wanting some sort of comfort, the girl approached him.

"Hey! Get away from her!" Someone shouted, making the rabbit flee. The girl panicked but didn't run, not knowing where to go.

"Mama?" She turned to see the new approacher, but she couldn't see who it was. They were covered in a silhouette, but unmistakably female.

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid your mama won't be coming back. She had to go on to the wheel of Samsara."

"Can you take me there?"

The unidentified person shook their head. "I'm afraid not. Only dead people can go there, and you are still connected to your living body. If I take you there, I will basically be killing you."

"Ma... Mama's dead?" The girl began to cry.

"I'm sorry, but she is. But you need to go back. Your family needs you to live. Return, and forget this place."

* * *

Nabiki woke up with a groan. "That lousy dream again. 'Forget this place' indeed." She got out of bed and got dressed. "How can I forget when every day I set foot outside this house I see a constant reminder?" She asked herself as she put her shirt and shorts on, then left her room.

It seemed to be a normal day at the Tendo household. Akane went out somewhere for a jog and would later return to smash a few bricks letting out her stress. Kasumi was busy with breakfast for everyone, keeping to her routine of being the eternal housekeeper.

'Just a normal day for me.' Nabiki said, not enjoying it.

"Nabiki, I'm a little short on rice. Could you go get a small bag?" Kasumi asked.

Not seeing a way she could refuse, Nabiki sighed. "Sure Kasumi. Be back soon." After getting the appropriate amount of money and her shoes, Nabiki went outside. 'Sometimes I think Kasumi does this on purpose to make me go outside more often.'

Up ahead of her down the street there was a boy standing around like he was waiting for something. He had glasses, a bit of acne, a school uniform Nabiki didn't recognize, and hair that was obviously oily, though she couldn't tell if it was on purpose or from lack of proper washing. Either way, Nabiki didn't care.

The boy saw her and smiled. "I had a feeling you'd come-" He stopped when she walked right thru him.

"Go away." She said. "I don't like talking to ghosts."

"But I'm so lonely. Please just stay for a bit." The boy pleaded while hovering to catch up to her.

Nabiki picked up the pace while trying to still look casual. "Find someone else to haunt."

"But-"

Nabiki glared at the spirit. "I said no. Got it? Leave me or I'll find an exorcist." Frightened, the ghost stayed back and she continued on. 'Dammit, ever since my mom died I keep seeing ghosts every time I leave the house. Will this ever stop?'

* * *

When she got home with the rice she noted that her father seemed to be crying positively as he read a postcard. Soun Tendo certainly seemed to be quite the happy man. "Nabiki, I would like you to stay here for a moment while I go get your sisters." He got up from the table, still carrying the card and keeping whatever secret it held from Nabiki.

'Okay, the occasional ghost is one thing, but Dad crying tears of manliness is a completely different thing.' She thought, her curiosity letting her think of all sorts of possibilities. It wasn't long before he returned with his two remaining daughters.

"I have great news for this family, but before that I must tell you a story from my past." The girls groaned as Soun tended to relive the 'glory days' a little too much sometimes, but they listened anyway. "During my training with the dreaded master, I had managed to seal the evil master away, but what I did not tell you was that I did not do it alone. I had met a wandering martial artist by the name of Genma Saotome, and he offered to help me seal away the accursed one."

"That was kind of cruel." Kasumi said.

"If you had known him you'd think otherwise Kasumi." Soun told her. "Anyway, I was quite grateful and asked how I could ever repay him. He asked for either a lot of money right away or a favor later, I chose the favor for obvious reasons."

Nabiki rolled her eyes. 'I don't think I've ever seen Dad hold more than 10,000 yen at one time.'

"So what's the favor?" Akane asked.

"That night we celebrated our success and we chatted. One thing led to another and we brought up the idea of our future children getting married and combining our schools." Soun continued, and even though all three of his daughters gave him odd looks, non-supportive, he ignored it. "Well, I got a postcard from him today saying that his son was in need of a place to stay and asked me to fulfill my favor to him by seeing if our idea has an merit."

"Wait, you're going to let a boy move in here?" Akane said, sounding like what Soun really said was 'I'm going to light you on fire.'

"Are you really expecting us to marry this boy Father?" Kasumi asked.

"Not right away. I'm not stupid you know. I just want to see if any of you girls can get along with him. Besides, I do owe his father a favor so I can't exactly tell the boy to go live on the streets now can I?"

"Doesn't he have other family to go to? Why here?" Akane objected.

"Akane, I'm sure if he did have those options he wouldn't be coming here." Nabiki said in a futile effort to calm down her less-than-friendly-to-men sister. "What kind of boy is he?" She then asked her father.

Soun wasn't sure how to answer that, outside of the truth. "In all honestly I can say that I do not know, but he should be here soon."

The three Tendo girls were staring at him with a dirty look. "You don't even know what the guy's like?" Akane nearly yelled, just as the rain started to fall. Just before Soun became the target for Akane's rage there was a knock at the door, and Nabiki started to try calming Akane's rage.

"Look that might be him, and we should at least make a good impression." Akane calmed down enough to nod her head. Soun and Nabiki walked towards the door and opened openedit, and looked at the boy that was standing in the rain. He had black hair that was tied in a braided ponytail, Chinese clothes of red, carrying a white robe over his shoulder, and a small black cat with light lavender fur on its ears, feet, and tail was sitting comfortably on his shoulder.

"You must be Ranma. My name is Soun Tendo."

"Yes, I'm Ranma Saotome. It's nice to meet you Tendo-san."

'He's young.' Kasumi noted, a bit disappointed.

'He's cute.' Nabiki thought, a bit pleased.

'He's here.' Akane groaned, a bit irritated.

"Please come in. Can we get you anything?" Soun offered.

"It would be rude of us to ask you for anything." Ranma said, only to get a loudly complaining stomach. "But if you offered us some food we would not refuse."

"We?" Kasumi asked, only for the black cat to mew. "Oh, I see."

Kasumi started to get some food prepared and put a saucer of milk for the strange-colored cat, who started licking the milk at a rapid pace. 'Poor kitten, it must've been starving.' Kasumi thought as she placed a plate of food in front of Ranma himself. To her shock he just stared at it like he had never seen it before. "Is something wrong?"

"No, not at all. Thank you very much." He said before eating the food itself, but he kept his eye on his surroundings. 'What are you thinking Grandma? This place doesn't look like much.' He was being cautious as Soun sat down in front of him.

"It is nice to meet you Ranma. As I'm sure you've heard from your father, he gave me some help and I promised a favor in return for it. Part of that favor is the possibility of marriage, and these are my three daughters." He first motioned to Kasumi who gave a minor polite bow. "This is Kasumi, age 19. She's been the homemaker of the house for roughly ten years. I don't think the house would be clean without her." Kasumi smiled before he then motioned to Nabiki. "My middle daughter, Nabiki, age 17. I'm terrible at managing finances at times, and she's the best at financial solutions." Nabiki winked at him in an almost teasing manner. "And finally my youngest daughter, Akane, age 16. Of all my children she's the only one who's kept practicing our family art so at the moment she's the one most likely to inherit the dojo." Akane lightly scowled at him, like a dog trying to keep a passerby from getting too close to their yard.

"Hello." Ranma said to all three girls. "Anything you'd like to know about me?"

"Yeah, like why can't you go somewhere else?" Akane rudely started.

"Akane, that was uncalled for." Kasumi scolded, but the aforementioned girl did not look repentant.

"If you must know, I don't have the money for an apartment or hotel. My grandparents insisted that the Tendo's would be hospitable, and Shampoo is cranky when we can't find a place to stay." The Tendos were confused until Ranma started petting the black cat. "And if I did spend money on a place to live, then I'd plummet into hell."

'Isn't that a little much?' The three girls thought, and Soun started to cry a little. "You unfortunate young man, you can stay here for as long as needed, that includes your cat as well."

Akane was still mad at her father's suggestion for Ranma, and when Akane started to walk towards Ranma, Shampoo started to hiss at her.

"She doesn't seem to like you very much."

Akane ignored this and looked at Soun. "Father, shouldn't we all have a say in him staying here? I mean, something this big shouldn't be just one person's decision."

Nabiki narrowed her eyes. 'Somehow I get the feeling that you wouldn't say that if Dad had said what you wanted to hear, or if Ranma had been a girl instead. That idiot Kuno really screwed up my sister.'

Soun crossed his arms. "Alright then, all those in favor of Ranma staying?"

To Akane's surprise, everyone in the room including the cat raised a hand. "But... but..."

"Majority vote Akane." Nabiki pointed out.

"Besides, it would be cruel to make someone we owe a debt to live on the streets when we have enough room to shelter them." Kasumi added.

"But we can't have a boy live here. He's going to be perverted first chance he gets." Akane insisted in hopes of overturning the vote. After everything she experienced daily at school the last thing she wanted was some boy doing the same thing in her own home.

It was then that Nabiki had a sly look on her face. "If you're so against it, then why don't you become his fiancee? If he's engaged then he's family, and if you don't do it then I just might. He's not bad looking."

Akane seemed morbid, but Ranma shook his head. "I don't mind working to pay rent as best I can, and Shampoo can earn her own keep as well."

"How?" All the Tendo's asked.

"That's a secret." Ranma answered, and Shampoo mewed.

"Regardless, you don't need to go anywhere at the moment. It's alright for you to stay, as we have more then enough room for you and your cute cat." That seemed to have a positive reaction for Shampoo, as she started heading towards Kasumi and rubbed her, purring.

Ranma smiled and bowed. "I guess I could stay for a little while, and if there is an extra room I would like to see it."

* * *

Ranma looked at the room for a bit, and nodded to Shampoo, as soon as Kasumi was out. "Kasumi very nice. She no like angry oni girl." A girl's voice was heard and Shampoo rubbed against Ranma again.

"I can understand. She was very nice."

"Nabiki no sure about. But so far no not like."

Ranma nodded. "I'll keep my eye on her."

"Akane... Shampoo no like. She reek of anger too too much."

"We probably caught her at a bad time. Hopefully she'll be calmer later." Ranma replied. "Just remember you have to act like an ordinary cat while we're here."

"Shampoo foreign, no stupid Ranma-sama." The black cat said. That's right, said, this cat could speak. "Can we take bath? No have real bath in too too long time."

"That would be good." Ranma said then stood up. "Oh wait, can't leave this." He picked up the folded white robe he had been carrying earlier. Shampoo jumped on him and climbed to his shoulder to perch, then he left the room.

* * *

Nabiki, meanwhile, was thinking about the situation, and she wasn't sure about it. Ranma was here on his own, but wouldn't someone at the age 16 be with their legal guardian?

'It's just plain weird, and why does he show up now?' She thought to herself, before she found her father. "Hey daddy, why isn't Ranma with his father? If this was about a favor of joining the schools, then shouldn't he be here too to help his son?" Nabiki asked, and the question was exceptionally valid.

Soun thought about it for a bit, but he couldn't think of too many reasons outside of martial arts. "I honestly do not know why Genma isn't here, but there must be a good reason. Some personal problems, or going off on a training trip, or maybe he has an additional occupation that demands a lot of attention. You know how sometimes parents have job transfers but the child has to remain behind for school. Who knows why Genma isn't here."

Nabiki sighed, she should've known that her father wouldn't have any direct answers either. 'Hmm, maybe I can check with my usual grapevine to find out.'

"I'm going out for a while daddy, and I'll be back before dinner." Before she went out, she froze. "Wait, is Ranma even in school?"

Soun froze too. "I didn't think about it. I assume he is or has been transferred to around here."

"We should be certain." Nabiki claimed then headed out.

'I wish I could call someone for this, but my gut's telling me this sort of thing requires me to be in person.' Nabiki rued as she walked down the street, something she wasn't particularly fond of.

Not two blocks away from her house, the boy in a uniform from earlier floated towards her. "Hey, will you talk to me this time? It gets lonely not being seen by others."

"How many times do I have to tell you to leave me alone? Find someone else who can see ghosts. I can't be the only one." Nabiki told the spirit, walking past him.

"I tried, but there's no one else here." The ghost complained, sounding like he was on the verge of crying. "Please, you're the only one, please."

"I'm busy." Nabiki replied, picking up her pace.

"Notice me. Notice me!" The ghost yelled, startling the mercenary girl since he hadn't done that in the week he had been haunting the street.

'Just ignore him, and he might leave me alone.' She thought as the ghost continued yelling 'look at me'. Unfortunately, Nabiki could feel the ghost's growing anger and resentment for being ignored.

'If she won't talk to me by asking, then I'll make her talk to me! I won't let anyone else have her!' The ghost decided, unaware that it was changing.

* * *

Despite the comfort of the furo, Shampoo felt a sudden chill. "Ranma-sama?" She looked to him only to see him blissfully ignoring everything. "Ranma-sama?" She repeated, nudging him with one of her paws.

"Not now Shampoo." He said, not even opening his eyes as he got more comfortable.

"Shampoo think just feel corrupted spirit in area."

Ranma now opened his eyes. "Dammit, my first real bath in I don't know how long, and this happens?" He then sighed in defeat. "Where's my robe?"

* * *

'Did the air just get chilly?' Nabiki asked herself, trying to keep herself from turning around. Then she felt the ghost try to hit her, only this time it actually touched her rather than pass thru her. Making her stumble to her knees. "What the heck?" 'In all my years of seeing ghosts, none were ever able to actually touch me.'

She looked to this ghost, but he no longer looked the same. Now he looked like some sort of humanoid catfish wearing a uniform. "I just want people to care that I'm around. No one ever did when I was alive. It was weeks before my classmates or family were even aware I was dead. I just want someone to notice me. And I'm tired of being nice about it."

'This is new.' Nabiki noted, getting back on her feet.

"Since no one noticed me in life, then I'll make them notice me in death!" The now catfish-like ghost said as he leered at Nabiki, "You'll be my ticket to getting noticed, and we can spend eternity together!" If the sudden change in the ghost wasn't alarming enough, that certainly frightened Nabiki. She tried to get up, but the ghost just kept her in place by using one of the fishy whiskers, which could apparently stretch, to grab her leg.

'I don't want to die!' Nabiki mentally screamed before another whisker started to go for her neck, but before it could reach her, a flash of metal sliced the whisker in two.

"Gaah!" The ghost cried in agony, letting Nabiki go, and that's when she noticed the person who saved her. It was Ranma, but he was wearing the silk robe he carried when he first showed up, with flames and wheels as part of the design. Shampoo rested on his shoulder and was ready to pounce at a moments notice, but there were two things that had caught her eye the most. One was a scythe as long as his body with an eastern dragon head with the mouth open, as if the blade was it's tongue or breath. Two, other then that robe, he was wearing only a towel.

"Who are you?" The ghost asked.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm a shinigami." Ranma answered.

"Ranma? A shinigami?" Nabiki asked herself.

"You can see him?" Shampoo asked, standing next to the startled girl.

"What? You can talk?"

"And you understand me. Wow, what are odds Ranma-sama come to house with medium in it?" The black cat asked itself.

"What is going on here?" Nabiki asked, seeing Ranma stand up to the ghost, who was shaking badly.

"I can't believe it, she really got an exorcist." He then bowed on the ground very submissively. "I'm sorry, I swear I won't bother her again. I just get so lonely."

Part of Nabiki couldn't help feeling bad for the spirit. 'Maybe part of this is my fault. No one really likes being ignored, I guess not even ghosts.'

"You need to move on. I can guide you to the wheel of Samsara." Ranma said.

'Samsara?' Nabiki asked, catching the familiar word. 'Where Mom went when she died?'

"What will happen to me then?" The ghost asked, his appearance returning to normal.

"You'll be reincarnated. You could be anything in your next life. But I can't promise what you will be next." Ranma told him.

The ghost thought it over. "Alright, I'll go." He looked at Nabiki. "I'm sorry I was so pushy."

"It's okay. And I'm sorry I was so rude." The mercenary replied.

Ranma turned to Nabiki. "You can see me, right?"

"Of course I can see you. Why shouldn't I be able to?" Nabiki asked.

"Living people shouldn't be able to see me. Wait, is the haori on right?" He checked his robe and saw he was wearing it correctly.

"What are you?"

Rama readjusted his hold on his scythe. "I'm sort of a shinigami."

"Sort of?" Nabiki repeated, confused.

"It's a long story. Anyway, I need your help for something. I sort of forgot my change. Could you spare me fifty yen?"

"Fifty yen? What for?" Nabiki asked.

"The fare for the spirit in order to move on. Reincarnation ain't free."

"What?" Nabiki asked, completely confused.

"Long story, we'll save it for later. Do you have fifty yen?"

Nabiki checked her hand bag. "Yeah, here you go." She tossed him the coin. 'I guess it's not that different than making donations at a shrine, but I always assumed that was more for the shrine itself than for the spirits there. Why would spirits need money?'

Ranma caught it. "Thank you very much. Shampoo, see her home."

"Yes Ranma-sama."

"Hey, I don't need a cat escorting me." Nabiki insisted.

"You're actually escorting her. We don't know the area, so this way she won't get lost." Ranma said, then turned to the ghost. "Come with me."

The air shimmered to the point it looked like water rippling vertically. Ranma led the ghost thru it, then both disappeared.

Nabiki looked at the black cat. "You two have a lot to explain to me when he gets back."


	2. Chapter 2

_To clear any confusion, in this story there are no Jusenkyo curses._

**Chapter 2**

Nabiki had seen some unusual things in her life, that kind of happens when you spend the majority of your life seeing ghosts. But she never imagined she would be sitting in her room one evening talking to a cat.

Shampoo was drinking some water from a cup Nabiki had given her, surprised that the cat had the dexterity to drink that way. "So where Medium Girl want Shampoo to start?"

"Start from the beginning. And what do you mean by 'medium'?" Nabiki asked.

"Medium is word used to mean living person who see spirits. Sometimes inherited, sometimes result of something happen in past. Anyone else in family see ghosts?"

Nabiki shook her head. "Nope, just me. Luckily no one knows anymore. For a while when I was a kid they thought I just had an active imagination, but they got worried when it didn't stop so I began pretending I don't see ghosts anywhere." Shampoo nodded in understanding. "Can anyone besides me hear you talk?"

"Shampoo hope not."

"How are you even able to talk in the first place. You're just a cat."

Shampoo frowned, an odd expression for a feline. "Shampoo is contracted black cat, partner to shinigami. Shinigami and black cat have long history together."

"Are all black cats like you?" Nabiki asked.

Shampoo shook her head. "No, many are but not all."

"So what exactly makes you so special? How do you help Ranma in his... work?" Nabiki asked.

"We black cats support shinigami. We help fight evil spirits, get supplies, work curses, and more. Shampoo main duty is to help Ranma-sama meet his quota." Shampoo explained.

"Quota?" Nabiki repeated. "He has a quota for ghosts to get rid of?"

Shampoo shook her head. "Not exactly. Full story is complicated. But it main reason Ranma-sama here by himself." She paused to scratch an itch by her ear. "Let me explain like this, shinigami assigned to reach goal each year. Goals vary. Ranma-sama has inherited goal from grandmother to fulfill, and must do shinigami work even though he no true shinigami."

Nabiki was confused almost to the point of swirling eyes. "In Japanese please."

"Ranma-sama explain best then." The cat replied.

Nabiki sighed. "Fine. How much long-?" She was cut off by a purplish haze appearing on her wall. "Wait, isn't that-?" Ranma stepped thru into her room. "What exactly is that thing?"

"That's the spirit road. Think of it as the connection point between this world and the next one. Handy way to get around if you know how to use it." Ranma answered, taking a seat by Shampoo. "And always free to use."

There was a knock at the door. "Nabiki?"

"Yes Kasumi?" Nabiki answered.

The oldest Tendo daughter opened the door. "Have you seen Ranma anywhere? I can't find him."

Nabiki looked at Ranma who didn't seem to react at all. 'She can't see him?' Nabiki then turned to her sister. "I think I heard him say something about walking around outside to get a better understanding of what's in the area here."

Kasumi nodded, accepting the excuse. "That makes sense. I hope he isn't out too long." She then left. closing the door.

"Okay, now why couldn't she see you this time?" Nabiki asked Ranma.

The boy pulled a bit on his white robe. "This is why. It's called the Haori of the Underworld. When I wear it, I'm invisible to human eyes and I can move like a spirit does. Only people with spiritual power or mediums like yourself can see or hear me."

"Okay, that makes sense I guess." The mercenary replied. "But if you're a person, why are you doing shinigami work?"

"I'll tell you, but only if you promise not to tell anyone else." Ranma answered.

Nabiki rolled her eyes. "Who would believe me?"

"Doesn't your family know about your ability?"

Nabiki shook her head. "I tried telling them years ago but they thought I was crazy. Since then I've been pretty tight-lipped about it." Ranma nodded in understanding. "So tell me your story."

"To put it simply, my grandmother is a full-fledged shinigami. A while ago she was supposed to end a man's life but she fell in love with him instead and made it so he could live a lot longer. She got her wish but the requirement was her yearly quota being increased tenfold for each year he was alive." Ranma explained.

"Let me guess, she agreed but couldn't meet the demand?" Nabiki said.

Ranma nodded. "Yep, and part of the deal was that if she can't her children and grandchildren would inherit the remaining amount."

"So, I'm guessing this man she saved is your grandfather." Nabiki commented, and Ranma nodded again. "This makes you part shinigami and legally obligated to work off your grandmother's debts as a shinigami." Ranma nodded again. "Doesn't the fact that you're mostly human grant you some leeway?"

"To an extent." Ranma answered. "I don't really have a yearly quota to fill, I just need to work off the remainder of my grandmother's debt than I'm free to continue or quit. But since I'm human I don't exactly have proper training or equipment for the job so I have to buy a lot of the tools needed for it, and they aren't cheap."

"Aren't you paid for your work?" Nabiki asked.

"Not when I'm in debt. All my income has to come from outside means. And if I spend it carelessly it will show up on my record and I will be at risk for being sent into Hell for it when I die." Ranma told her.

"So if I understand this correctly, you're basically forced to work for free, for a job you're barely qualified to do, at your own expense, all because your grandmother agreed to something in haste?" Nabiki summarized.

Ranma nodded. "That pretty much sums it up."

"Wow that sucks. How long have you been doing this?"

"Hard to say. I first learned about it seven years ago, and it was after my grandpa died I had to start the work so since last year." Ranma answered.

"How much work do you have to do?" Nabiki inquired.

"Let's put it this way. Let's assume my grandma's original quota had been one thousand souls a year. Her new quota would become ten thousand for the next few decades. Every year she failed to reach that amount, the remainder was set aside and the next year she got reassigned ten thousand. Those remainders have added up and been reassigned to me, and there's roughly fifty years worth of remainders there."

Nabiki gasped. "Dear Kami-sama, that could be over a hundred thousand souls if your grandmother was lax enough. Maybe even two hundred thousand."

"And Ranma-sama not paid for any of it." Shampoo commented.

"Where's your grandmother now? Why isn't she doing anything about this?" Nabiki asked, bothered by this woman.

"With Grandpa dead and reincarnated she no longer has the right to live in the human world. So she has to go back to normal duty. Her quota's been reduced back to normal but she took a deep pay cut as punishment, but the remainders are on my back alone." Ranma told her.

"Wait, what about your parents? Isn't one of them part shinigami and able to work? Isn't this their responsibility too?" Nabiki asked.

Ranma looked quite bothered by the question. "I don't want to talk about that."

Nabiki wanted to know more, but knew not to press him further. 'It sounds like his parent is ignoring the debt and pushing it all onto him. How horrible. His family made a huge mess in their own selfishness and he's basically forced to cover the bill for it.'

"Grandma's got her own quota's to fill so Shampoo's my only real aide in all this." Ranma claimed.

"Anything I can do to help out?" Nabiki asked, getting two confused looks in response. "After hearing all that I can't exactly turn a blind eye to your plight now can I? Plus it would be easier for you to do all this with someone to cover for you. You can't tell my family you're part-timing as a shinigami can you?"

'I'm not exactly a charitable person, but I don't want to be cruel to the only person around who understands what I see.' Nabiki told herself.

"How can you help?" Shampoo asked.

"That's what I'm asking. I'm no fighter, but I do know where several ghosts currently are and I've heard about several more. I can lead you to them so that will help your search. And like I said I can cover your absence when others ask." Nabiki claimed.

Ranma looked the same as before but he did seem interested. "It's worth trying."

* * *

At around dinner time Ranma made a show of coming back from his supposed walk around town, that way no one would ask why he was already at the dojo.

"Here you go Ranma." Kasumi said when she offered him some dinner.

"Thank you so much Kasumi." Ranma said, pleased to have something to eat he didn't have to scrounge or hunt for.

Kasumi smiled at his politeness while Akane scowled. "Stop flirting with my sister!" She all but screamed.

Everyone looked confused at her outburst. "Akane, he was just thanking me. That is not flirting."

"He didn't have to be so nice about it." The youngest girl replied, not wanting to be countered.

"Would you rather he be rude?" Nabiki asked.

Rather than answer, Akane gave Ranma one of her infamous glares. "Why do you have to be here? Why can't you go live with your parents like somewhere else and leave me alone?"

'Leave _me_ alone?' Nabiki asked herself. 'Does Akane really think this situation is just about her? I can understand her not wanting a boy to live here and I can understand her being rude to Ranma simply because he is a boy, but does she really think Ranma came here just to do what Kuno-baby is trying to do?'

Ranma looked away. "I never knew my mother. I have no idea where she is or if she's alive. My father is no longer in this world. I've been living with my grandparents until last year, when they died. Since then, I've basically been homeless, finding food and shelter wherever I can."

Soun and Kasumi were touched by this. Nabiki wondered if there was more to his words than just the literal meaning.

Akane on the other hand was apathetic. "So? You can keep doing that then."

"Akane!" Soun and Kasumi gasped, horrified that she just told this boy to stay homeless.

"Dad, you heard him, the man you made a promise to is dead. That means there's no need for any of us to marry him or let him into our home." Akane insisted.

"Then I should honor my late friend by attempting to make his last wish a reality." Soun said.

"Wait, Father didn't you say that you got a note from your friend today?" Kasumi asked.

Soun's eyes widened. "That's right."

Akane turned to Ranma. "You liar! You're trying to scam us and take advantage of us!"

She seemed to completely ignore Ranma's own surprised look. "You mean he's alive?"

"You didn't know?" Kasumi asked.

"No, I was told he was dead. If he's alive, then where has he been all this time? Why didn't he come get me when I lost my home?" Ranma asked, looking quite upset by this.

'He really thought his father was dead?' Akane asked, finally feeling something for the pigtailed boy other than hostility. When she heard Ranma was going to be staying with them, all she felt she needed to know was if he was a boy or girl. Akane currently felt every boy in the world was like every boy in Furinkan, and if one boy, _any_ boy, was moving in, that was basically like inviting the Hentai Horde into her own home. It didn't matter what type of person Ranma was and she had no interest in finding out, she just knew he was male and that was all she felt she needed to know to form an opinion. Had Ranma been a girl she might have tried to be friends, but being friendly to a boy was simply out of the question at the time.

_(AN: I know this sounds like Akane-bashing but it isn't, it's just being true to her character at the time. Admit it, on the first day if Ranma had shown up male instead of female Akane wouldn't have even considered asking if he wanted to be friends. Like in canon Akane here will deal with her male issues over time, but not on the first day.)_

"This is troubling." Soun said. "I'm going to try and contact my friend in this regard, since it's clear he knows you're alive. Until then, please stay here with us so we can keep you informed and reuniting you with your father will be easier."

Ranma nodded, though he still looked hurt.

"Also, due to this revelation and the impact it must be having on you, I feel it's only right that for the time being nothing is made official regarding the engagement." Soun added, hoping it would lighten the mood.

For the girls it did, but Ranma was confused. "What do you mean engagement?"

"You were uninformed about that too?" Nabiki asked.

"I was just given a note telling me you guys agreed to house me as a favor for my family. I assumed I only got it now because it took a while for you to locate me." Ranma stated.

"So you only came here to get a house to stay in?" Akane asked.

Ranma nodded. "What did you _think_ I came here for?"

"Don't answer that Akane." Nabiki cut off, knowing her sister would likely go too far in her answer.

* * *

A few days went by and everyone was getting used to Ranma being around. Akane was still hesitant to interact with him but she had at least dropped the issue of him being there. Kasumi and Soun went about their normal daily activities as if he wasn't even there, and sometimes he wasn't.

The only one who seemed impacted by Ranma's presence was of course Nabiki, mainly because she was relieved she was no longer the only one around that could see ghosts. And better yet Ranma could make them go away, as long as he had some yen to cover the fee.

"Ranma, are you going to spend your entire day just waiting for a ghost to show up?" Nabiki asked when she got home after school, seeing him seated on the roof wearing his white haori.

"I don't have anything else to do."

"You should probably come to school. That way I can show you where more ghosts are." Nabiki offered. The only reason she hadn't already shown him some ghosts around Furinkan was he was never at the school grounds when she was and she couldn't bring him there without drawing the type of attention she didn't want to get.

"How am I supposed to cover tuition?" Ranma asked.

"I'm not sure. You can't hang around the house all day without the neighbors getting concerned, and if you're out dealing with ghosts each day Dad and Kasumi will wonder where you go. And we can't say you have a part-time job since they'd expect you to have a paycheck at some point. Can't you ask your grandmother for a loan or something?"

Ranma mock-laughed. "If it were that easy do you think I'd be stressing about money?"

"Fine, I'll bring it up to my dad. He should know someone in his job that knows what to do here." Nabiki relented. "In the meantime, I have an idea that should be able to get you some free food or money, if you use your powers a certain way."

"Okay."

Nabiki looked mildly surprised. "That easily?"

"I'm not paid for this work. I need to get life's necessities somehow. What do you have in mind?"

"Leave that to me."

* * *

A few days went by and Nabiki was ready to enact her plan. She went to one of her friends, a girl with long black hair and purple eyes, considered by many a heartthrob but she was too shy to accept any date offers. Her name was Tsubaki Haramura.

"Hey Tsubaki, how are things?" Nabiki asked, walking beside her friend after school.

Tsubaki did not look happy. "Not well, I just want to get out of here."

"Still got a string of bad luck?" Nabiki asked.

"More like a rope of bad luck by this point. It's affecting me at home too. I'm tempted to go to a shrine and see if they can help me."

Nabiki smiled. "Since you brought it up, I did some digging and heard something you might appreciate." She waited to see if she had her friend's interest, which she did. "I heard that before we came to this school, there was a popular rumor going around the student body. The rumor was that if you go up to the clock tower and right behind the clock you leave a written request for help and an offering of either food or money, the problem would go away. Within reason of course."

Tsubaki looked curious. "That sounds a little unlikely."

"How? You heard about that secret umbrella that supposedly creates couples. And what about the idea that this school was built over a dried up spring that was haunted by a ghost that lurks in the girl's gym locker room now?"

The black-haired girl nodded. "Yeah you're right. But why haven't I heard this before?"

Nabiki shrugged. "I guess when the believing class left the new class just shrugged the rumor off. Why not try it out? The offering isn't expensive, so you're no worse off than you were before if it doesn't work."

Tsubaki thought it over. "Well, you usually do know what you're talking about Nabiki. I guess I can try it. Any idea what a good offering could be?"

"I heard a sandwich and 500 are considered reasonable to the spirit that answers the plea. Try that or something like it."

Tsubaki nodded then left to the school store. Nabiki smiled then looked to see if anyone was listening in. "You got that?" She whispered.

"Yep, I just hope this works." Ranma told her. Thanks to his haori no one but Nabiki knew he was there.

"Trust me, this will work."

* * *

The next day Nabiki approached Tsubaki before class. "Did it work?"

The black-haired girl looked much better than before. "Actually yes, nothing bad happened yesterday. But something weird happened."

"Oh yeah?"

Tsubaki nodded. "Yeah, I wrote down the request like you said, included the food and money, and went up to the clock as told. I put everything on the floor just under the clock, but just before I could turn away, everything just disappeared into thin air."

"Really?" The student sitting behind Tsubaki asked, inadvertently hearing the story.

Tsubaki nodded again. "Yes. The letter, the sandwich, the 500 yen coin, all of it just disappeared into thin air. I was a bit freaked out, but when I was walking home I saw a black cat that actually waved at me. You know, like the legend."

"Black cats aren't lucky." The student behind her reminded.

"I know, but right by the cat there was a bunch of yen bills. It was like the cat was offering it to me." At this point a few more students were listening to her story. "I was careful, but the cat just sat there and let me grab the wad. There was 20,000 yen there, which I lost earlier this week. I really needed that back, and then I had it. Best of all, when I got home all my other misplaced things were back where they were supposed to be."

The rest of the students were mildly surprised, but Nabiki wasn't. She knew exactly what had happened. 'I had Ranma use his spiritual state to cause a little trouble for her, nothing major but enough to get her frazzled and open to suggestion regarding how to stop it. Once she made the offering, he undid everything, mainly the minor thefts. Sorry Tsubaki, but you were the only one I could think of that would react as needed.'

"So what exactly did you do again?" One of the students who missed the beginning of the story asked.

"Nabiki told me that there was an old rumor here about a helpful spirit in the clock tower. Just write a request and include an offering and the problem should be taken care of. After seeing my offering disappear like that then all my missing stuff returned, I'm pretty sure there's some truth to this."

Some of the students looked awed while a couple were naturally skeptical. "Preposterous. Surely I would have been the first to know if such a spirit existed." Kuno claimed.

"And why is that Kuno-baby?" Nabiki teased.

"For even the spirits seek to bathe in my glory and sing my song. Any spirit on school grounds would clearly make itself known to me." The kendoist proclaimed.

Nabiki rolled her eyes. "Kuno, your ego's so big I swear it's got stretchmarks."

Tsubaki giggled. "Yeah, he's so high on himself he gets altitude sickness."

Kuno smirked. "Even you lofty Nabiki praise me for my manliness."

Everyone was quite surprised by that reaction. "Umm... Kuno? That wasn't praise." Nabiki pointed out.

"Of course it was. You were noting how mighty my skills are. My manliness is so great if it were a physical thing it would be excessively large. Were you not saying that?"

Nbiki groaned. "Not even close." She then stood up. "You know what? After school I'm going to see if the clock tower spirit will help me with a problem. Why don't you come with me if you don't believe me?"

* * *

True to her word, after school Nabiki went to the Furinkan High clock tower with an offering. Her class followed her, mostly to see if this little ritual actually worked. In one of her hands she held an envelope and in her other she held a packaged meat bun.

"I'm told we don't have to make any big offerings, but it stands to figure that the more grand the offering the more likely the spirit will comply." Nabiki told her class. "That's why in this envelop I had 5,000 yen. Let's see if it works."

She placed the envelope and the meat bun on the floor beneath the clock. Everyone watched with interest. The offered items then suddenly disappeared.

"Wow did you see that?" A girl said.

"Told you it worked." Tsubaki commented.

"Parlor trick. Magicians do this all the time." Kuno countered.

Right then a window in the room opened inexplicably, and Kuno felt like a set of invisible hands had grabbed him. Before he could protest, he was lifted into the air and thrown out the window, yelling followed by a loud splashing sound.

The witnesses were stunned silent. Nabiki simply grinned. "May not have solved the problem forever, but that should get Kuno a bit more humbled."

"You asked for Kuno to be thrown out a window?" One of Nabiki's associates asked.

The mercenary girl shook her head. "No, just that he be humiliated a bit to teach him a lesson. If that didn't work, I'll ask for something more effective next time."

The next morning the clock tower was flooded with students leaving offerings and requests. Ranma was taking them all as they came, but unable to act on them right away. 'At least now I won't have to worry so much about food or money.'


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

A few days went by and Ranma was doing steady work for Furinkan as their resident favor-granting spirit. Nabiki made it easier on him by telling the students the spirit could only do some much right away and some requests were beyond its power, but overall people were satisfied.

One student who had yet to try the clock-tower spirit was less than satisfied. "Dammit, will they ever stop?" Akane complained when she got to class after dealing with the Hentai Horde again.

"Why not try the clock-tower spirit?" Her friend Yuka offered.

Akane scoffed. "I can take care of it myself. I'm no weakling needing someone or something else to do my fighting for me." The youngest Tendo usually made it a point to do things herself whenever possible, which was probably why Kasumi had never succeeded in getting her to learn proper cooking.

"C'mon, it really works." Yuka insisted.

"What, did you actually try it?" Akane asked.

Yuka nodded. "Yeah, this one girl was harassing me after school. Schoolyard bully pretending to be street gang, that sort of thing. I left a request for help, and the next time it happened she... well, you probably wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"If you were having trouble with some pervert then why not ask me to deal with them?" Akane asked.

"Because I wanted to see if the clock-tower spirit was real for myself." Yuka said, being honest but withholding the real answer.

The truth was Yuka saw asking Akane for help in that matter as only a bad thing. Akane was aggressive, but at least she saved it for people that attacked her directly and were capable of fighting back. If Akane got involved in Yuka's problem, she'd be attacking someone who had never hurt her and wasn't a martial artist in any sense of the word. That in turn would likely give Akane the idea that she can pretty much turn her anger on anyone for any reason. At least, that's what Yuka feared.

"Besides Akane, I said this person was a girl. They weren't harassing me sexually, they just wanted money and valuables. You really need to stop assuming too much." Yuka added.

Akane huffed. "I still don't need to use some spirit to deal with what I already can."

"Akane, the boys aren't stopping. I think it's safe to say you're not handling the situation." Sayuri added. "There's nothing wrong with asking for help when you need it."

"I don't need it!" Akane insisted rather loudly, drawing a lot of attention to herself.

Yuka sighed. "Fine, if you say so Akane."

* * *

"So what's wanted today?" Ranma asked, looking thru the requests left in the clocktown when school was over. First he and Shampoo looked thru the food then pocketed the offered money, then were looking thru the written requests.

Shampoo held up one piece of paper while she tried to eat a sandwich. "Here one."

Ranma took it, eating a sandwich of his own. "Let me get an A on my next test." He rolled his eyes then took out a pen. "That's something only you can do. Even if I could alter your grade, I couldn't do it without knowing your name." He then folded up the paper and withdrew a 500 yen coin. "I hate it when they make impossible requests. I always got to give them a refund." He put the paper down and returned the offered money.

"But we keep food right?" Shampoo asked, her mouth full.

Ranma nodded. "Oh heck yeah. It would just go bad by the time they return anyway." He then grabbed another request. "Please put a stop to the Hentai Horde for my friend's sake."

Shampoo looked confused. "What's that?"

"No idea, but I think I know someone who does."

* * *

"The Hentai Horde?" Nabiki repeated, doing some stretches in her room using a magazine as a reference.

"Yeah, you know what it is?" Ranma asked, seated on her bed wearing his haori so no one would see him. He figured the other Tendo's would get the wrong idea if they saw him in her room, or anyone's room besides his own for that matter.

"Yeah I know what it is. I see it every school day." Nabiki said, lifting her leg while keeping it straight. Ranma couldn't see anything, but he did notice her legs looked nice in those shorts. "It's a little complicated, but I'm sure it's a problem you can do something about."

Nabiki lowered her leg and leaned back to lay flat on the floor before arching her back, unintentionally emphasizing her breasts to Ranma while she stretched, making him blush. "There's a boy in my class called Tatewaki Kuno. Rich with a good face but a heck of an ego and rather annoying tendency to talk in bad Shakespearean. He's a bit fond of my sister Akane, and he clearly has no idea how to charm a lady."

"So he's harassing Akane?" Ranma asked.

Nabiki relaxed and sat up. If she noticed his blush she didn't call attention to it. "He's past the point of simply harassing now." She began to do some toe-touching exercises while sitting down. "I'd say he's somewhere between stalker and potential rapist. That's where the Hentai Horde comes in. You see, most men would simply ask out a girl they found cute. For some asinine reason Kuno decided that wasn't enough. Instead, he stood up in front of the entire school and made a stupid new rule that no man can ever even try to ask Akane out unless they first defeat her in combat. Next thing we knew, every time Akane comes within eyesight of Furinkan a group of hormonal teenage boys try to overwhelm her and beat her into submission in order to win a date out of her."

Ranma was understandably shocked. "So... that's why she always looks ready to explode?"

Nabiki nodded. "Yeah, after all that she pretty much thinks having a Y chromosome makes you a monster. Though I think she makes two exceptions, our dad and our family doctor. At least she doesn't accuse either of _them_ of trying to molest her. If she ever does accuse them I'm probably going to stop giving her the benefit of the doubt regarding whether or not she needs therapy."

"Why didn't anyone already stop this?" Ranma asked. "Shouldn't the school itself have put its foot down? Or at least your father?"

Nabiki shrugged. "I can't say anything about the school, but for Dad, I think he prefers it this way. After all, Akane does get some fighting experience out of it. Besides, Dad overreacts every time he thinks one of us is in trouble. He hasn't yet, which tells me he clearly underestimates this."

"Would he do that if he went there and saw it himself?" Ranma asked.

Nabiki mock-laughed. "Oh that's going to go well." She said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "Akane, who constantly claims to be the best martial artist around, needs her daddy to come to school to get some boys off her back? She'd never forgive him. Now that I think about it, maybe _that's_ why he keeps out of it."

"He's afraid of his own daughter?" Ranma asked.

Nabiki stopped exercising and simply sat down with her legs crossed. "Dad... hasn't quite been the same since the accident that killed Mom and almost killed me. It's hard to describe really."

Nabiki didn't like recalling that time either. She and her mother had been out having some quality time together without having to share it with her sisters, and next thing she knew there was a terrible accident. Nabiki couldn't remember exactly what it had been, doctors said she blocked out the memory, but she did know that her mother had died and she herself had a near-death experience.

Ever since then her family had felt incomplete without her mother and Nabiki had been able to see ghosts. Soun seemed to just go thru the motions of being a parent, like he was lost without his wife but stayed for his daughter's sakes. Kasumi had to assume responsibilities of maintenance and thus put her life on hold. And Akane, in Nabiki's opinion, didn't really remember Mrs. Tendo that much anymore, instead only truly remembered how her mother made her feel, and was desperate to feel that way again.

"I'm sorry." Ranma said, feeling like it was the only right thing to say.

Nabiki nodded. "I am too, but not for me. I've seen ghosts for years, so I know my mom's spirit is somewhere. For me death doesn't have the same impact it has for others, so I'm probably the only one in my family that's truly gotten over it. But the rest, I think they're trapped in the five stages of grief."

"Denial, anger, bargaining, sorrow, and acceptance." Ranma replied.

Nabiki nodded. "Yeah, I read about it and learned that everyone goes about it in their own pace, but sometimes a person can be trapped in one particular stage. The way I see it, they all are. Kasumi, by trying to replace Mom, is stuck in denial. Dad, by having little drive in him anymore, is stuck in sorrow. And Akane, by having a short fuse, is stuck in anger."

"What about you?" Ranma asked.

"Like I said, I've seen ghosts for years, so death doesn't really have the same impact on me. For everyone else, death is final, absolute, and highly unfair. For me, death isn't final, just another phase in the grand scheme of things. Mom's not truly gone, just somewhere else now, and because I can see that, I've been able to reach acceptance. Had I not, maybe I too would have been trapped in a stage. Like maybe bargaining, the stage that tricks us into believing we have control over the inevitable."

Ranma nodded. "Makes perfect sense. My own shinigami experience has helped me come to terms with losing my grandpa."

"Enough of that, the thing is someone wants you to help get a bunch of boys off Akane's back. How do you do this without scaring off other future clients or revealing your identity?" Nabiki asked, getting back on topic.

"A direct attack wouldn't work. I'm not supposed to use shinigami skills on the living. Some tools are given, but I'm not spending money on something until we've exhausted all other possibilities." Ranma stated.

"My thoughts exactly." Nabiki agreed. "You shouldn't act like a ghost to them, it will make people think the clocktower spirit can become or already is evil and you'll lose a lot of money and free food. But appearing in person won't accomplish anything as they have no reason to be intimidated by you and Akane will take a lot of offense at you fighting for her. But for the record, can you do anything without your shinigami abilities?"

Ranma nodded. "Yeah, my grandparents taught me martial arts as the basis for shinigami work, but that was the emphasis of their teachings. I'm good, but I'm more used to fighting ghosts and devils than living people."

Nabiki put her hand on her chin. 'As I thought, the direct approach will do more harm than good. So an indirect approach is what would work best. Problem is how to do it in a way that will get results yet be attributed to the clocktower spirit so Ranma keeps steady business? Hmm...'

After a moment, she got an idea that made her grin wickedly.

"Ranma, I think I have an idea. It's imperfect and likely won't solve the complete problem, but it should at least weaken it enough that the problem solves itself naturally. And if it needs more, I think you can step in a bit with your special talents to get the message across."

"What do you have in mind?" Ranma asked.

The mercenary girl kept her grin as she answered. "We're going to make the Hentai Horde stop itself."

* * *

Akane went to school the next morning ready for another fight per the norm. 'Another day another dose of Vitamin Hentai. Side effects include irritation, mood swings, and headaches.' She dryly joked in a futile effort to make it bearable.

But to her incredible surprise, when she got to the gate there was no one waiting for her. Not even Kuno.

"What the hell? Is this some kind of new trick?" She asked, then got her answer.

Above the main entry to the school was a large banner hanging. On it was a message written. 'Anyone caught participating in the activity known as the Hentai Horde will receive an F for the year. No exceptions'.

Akane looked around, wondering if any boys were so far it looked like the banner had actually worked. 'This can't be right. This is _too_ easy, something's got to be up.' Nevertheless, she went inside, more paranoid than relieved about not being assaulted.

When class started she saw that almost all the boys in her class seemed afraid to look at her. Even the ones that hadn't been part of the horde. She felt an odd mixture of triumph and sheer confusion, as if she wanted to say 'Yeah that's right you perverts _better_ leave me alone' and 'What the hell is going on here?' but couldn't make up her mind which to say first.

Fortunately the homeroom teacher provided her with some answers. "Students, I've been given a note that all teachers and faculties members here received this morning and are required to tell everyone. It says 'To all students and faculty members, it has come to my attention that highly immoral activity has been taken place here on school grounds and for some reason everyone has allowed it to continue. The activity in question has been dubbed the Hentai Horde and to my understanding consists solely of a bunch of boys harassing a single girl each morning with the intention to force her into a relationship with whatever man can claim her first. To the participants, you may think this is just a game, but this is criminal behavior and cannot be permitted, and thus I hereby order that such activity must be stopped immediately. Refusal to obey and continuation of this activity will result in automatic failure of all classes for the year and if still continued punishment will increase to suspension and notification of police. Students are allowed to pursue romantic relationships, that is not being forbidden, but this particular method of pursuit is now officially forbidden as is any attempt to mask it by alternative means. Also, I wish to speak directly with the one credited with creating this activity, Tatewaki Kuno, and the one the activity was centered on, Akane Tendo, at the end of this day in the Principal's Office. Signed, Acting Principal'."

Akane smiled brightly. 'Great, 'bout damn time someone here did something.' Suddenly her smile faded. 'Oh crap, that means I've got to be with Kuno later today alone. Oh well, he can't do anything to me, but nowhere does it say I can't hit him.'

* * *

At the end of school both Akane and Kuno went to the principal's office.

"Ah Akane, so nice to see you. It will be nice to have you help tell this ruffian that they cannot and should not impede our love." Kuno started.

Faster than one could blink Akane had punched him harder enough to make him fly down the hallway, which wasn't that long from where they stood. "I'll love a corpse before I love you!"

The commotion resulted in the door to the office opening. Out appeared a young-looking woman with long blue hair held with a red ribbon. She wore a green blouse and black dress, and despite her youthful appearance carried herself like someone accustomed to having authority.

"Both of you in here now. And keep your mouths shut and hands to yourselves." She ordered before going inside. Akane and Kuno went in, but not without Akane giving Kuno another evil eye.

"I do not see what the purpose of this is." Kuno calmly complained.

The blue-haired woman sat at a desk, looking more like an authority figure than before. "Now you two are going to stay quiet and let me say a few things. Each interruption will result in a day of detention. Understood?" The two nodded. "I'll cut to the chase, I'm not usually here in the morning so I was left unaware of the situation going on. I'm surprised no one actually brought it up before, or got involved sooner. Almost as if the faculty was paid to turn a blind eye to this. However, I was not, and I'm doing something about it. And you both are going to comply."

"What do you mean both of us? He's the one that needs to stop. I haven't done anything." Akane objected.

The blue-haired woman didn't look like she agreed. "While you're not wrong on him needing to stop, you're going to need to do something here too. And since you brought it up, let's start with your end." Akane gave her a challenging look. "I am not accusing you of starting anything, but I do believe you are partially responsible for letting it continue."

"What do you mean? I've tried to stop it every day!" Akane complained.

"From what I've learned you only stop the ambush each morning. You've done nothing to solve the problem behind it all." The blue-haired woman told her, confusing Akane. "By defending yourself as you do, you stop them from doing anything that day, but you do nothing to stop them from continuing the attack tomorrow or the next day. Why? Do you secretly enjoy the ambushes? Or do you believe they'll stop on their own if you hit them hard enough?"

"I don't enjoy these ambushes! I hate them! Absolutely hate them!" Akane declared, hot under her collar and close to exploding.

"Surely you jest Akane." Kuno said.

"Shut up! I hate you most of all!" Akane yelled at the kendoist.

"Both of you calm down right now!" The blue-haired said with a lot of demand and power, almost as if she could force them to obey. To her relief, they did. "Miss Tendo, have you tried anything _other_ than hitting the men involved? Like say, tell the men that you do not accept the challenge involved and therefore will not uphold it whether they win or lose? Or tell the boys what _would_ make you want to accept attention from one?"

"I have told them that! Daily! And I don't _want_ their attention! I'm close to transferring to an all-girls school because of this!"

"Have you told them this without screaming in anger? Or hitting them while saying this?" The acting principal added, silencing Akane. "Miss Tendo, the boys involved in this activity are obviously highly competitive. By fighting back, you're playing right into their hands. They're probably more in this for the challenge than the goal, and by fighting back and resisting their attempts as you have, you're only making the challenge better for them. Simply put, you're encouraging them more than deferring them. To remove the ambushers, you need to remove the challenge. Just tell them all you have no interest in going along with the game and will not abide by the terms, but do so in a way that makes you look serious instead of simply hard to get. That's another reason why they're continuing, your behavior could come across as teasing them, baiting them."

"I'm not!" Akane insisted.

"I'm not saying you are, I'm just letting you know that's how it might be interpreted. Miss Tendo, the message you give out doesn't always get translated correctly. That's why you need to try the direct approach. By telling the boys you don't want it but going along with the routine each morning you send a mixed signal. I want you to try this, direct and without anger. You'll be surprised how effective it can be. What do you have to lose by trying it?"

Akane huffed and looked away, looking a bit defiant but not like she hadn't listened.

The blue-haired woman then turned to Kuno. "Mr. Kuno, from what I'm told you told the entire school that this activity had to happen, and I quote, you would permit no other means. Now tell me young man, what authority do you have over Miss Tendo's love life?"

"I'm Tatewaki Kuno, champion of the kendo club and heir to the Kuno fortune." He answered.

"Mr. Kuno, I asked not who you are, but what _authority_ you have over a girl's love life. Your name, title, or position in your family does not qualify as such. So tell me, what made you think it was perfectly acceptable, nay, _required_, to make such an announcement?" The blue-haired woman countered firmly.

"Akane Tendo is the fairest maiden at this school. Only the finest man has any right to court her. How else was such a man to be determined?" Kuno answered.

"I don't care. I didn't want this at all." Akane grumbled.

The blue-haired woman nodded. "Mr. Kuno, did Miss Tendo ever once say she approved of this idea? Does she not have a say in how her own love life is handled?"

"But how else can the right man for her be determined?" Kuno asked, sounding like he sincerely did not see an alternative.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe letting _her_ decide for herself on _her_ terms? Not yours?" The blue-haired woman replied sarcastically. "Tell me Mr. Kuno, you seem to have a high opinion of yourself. Do you believe that you are suitable by your standards to date Miss Tendo?"

"Of course, none are more qualified than myself." He answered, earning another glare from the girl he coveted.

"No one but you? But didn't you say this was a test to see who most deserved her? So you wanted to see if someone else was better at pursuing her than you?" The blue-haired woman asked, raising an eyebrow. "Or maybe you just wanted an audience instead. Since you claim none are better than you, I find it likely you thought no one _could_ win this 'game' other than yourself, so you just wanted to ensure everyone knew it and at the same time try to force Miss Tendo into not being allowed to refuse your so-called prize."

"But I-"

"No Mr. Kuno, you need to hear this. Both of you, because not everything that needs to be heard is nice to hear." The blue-haired woman ordered. "Mr. Kuno, you are going to stop this pointless assault. No more trying to rally together a group of men and no more trying to trap Miss Tendo, or any girl for that matter, into a relationship they did not ask for. If you want a girlfriend, try simply asking her to be one. Don't go acting like she's a trophy to grab from some competition. If I hear you do otherwise, I will follow thru on my threats of punishment you were informed about earlier."

Seeing he couldn't overrule the acting principal, Kuno submitted. "Yes Ma'am."

Akane smiled brightly, with a touch of smugness, but that lessened when the blue-haired woman turned to her. "As for you Miss Tendo, if you are harassed in the future you are allowed to defend yourself, but I do not want you getting into the habit of hitting students."

"What? Those perverts-"

"I said you can defend yourself, but _only_ defend yourself. That means if they're attacking you, you can resort to such methods. As long as you keep it reasonable. But if they're just talking to you, then don't respond with fists. I don't care what they say or who said it, if all they used is words then all you should use in return is words. I know what happened outside this office, all Mr. Kuno did here was speak, yet you directly attacked him. I will not allow this on school grounds. If I hear you physically attack someone who made no effort to hurt you physically first, my threat of failure for the year will apply to you as well. Is that clear?"

"That's not fair." Akane said unhappily.

"Life suddenly got fair? Why wasn't I informed?" The blue-haired woman asked sarcastically. "Again, is that clear Miss Tendo? I don't care if you don't like it, those are the rules. I expect you to obey them. Now, we're done here, both of you can go home." The two teens rose from their seats. "Oh by the way, both of you have three days of detention starting tomorrow for interrupting me."

Both had shocked expressions and were about to object, but she gave them a look that clearly said 'You want to go for four days?' so they stayed silent and left.

When they left the blue-haired woman smiled and leaned back in her chair. "How's that kids?"

What Akane and Kuno were unaware of was that Ranma and Nabiki had been there the entire time, watching and whispering in the woman's ears for suggestions. Ranma was using his haori of the underworld to be hidden, and Nabiki was using a second set.

"Thanks Grandma." Ranma told the blue-haired woman.

"No problem Ranma. I really needed a break from shinigami work for a moment anyway." She replied. Yep, this woman was Ranma's shinigami grandmother, the one who got him stuck with her debt they both had to work off. At the moment Nabiki was using her haori since she needed to hide.

"At least this way my sister won't be bothered so much, and can get calmer." Nabiki commented. "You know, there's something really familiar about you Mrs. Saotome."

"Oh please, don't call me that. It makes me feel old." She said before quickly hitting the mercenary on the head with a hidden staff.

Nabiki winced in pain, but then her eyes widened. "Wait, I remember someone doing that to me once. Right around when my mother died." She gasped and pointed. "It was you. You're the one I saw. You're the reason I can see ghosts."

Ranma's grandma tilted her head in confusion. "I'm sorry, I don't recall such a thing. Unless... I did once find a girl who was in a sort of limbo between life and death and brought her back. That might have been you."

"I'm pretty sure that was me. But why have I seen ghosts since then? What happened to me?" Nabiki pressed.

"Nothing happened." She answered. "Although..."

"Although what?"

"On the way to take you back to the world of the living we passed by some kiosks selling stuff. You asked for some candy, and since my grandson was about your age I found it hard to refuse, so I bought you some. I didn't think it would result in you seeing ghosts."

"Candy? All these years were because of candy?" Nabiki asked.

"Sorry, I need to get back to work. It was nice seeing you though, please take care of my grandson." The blue-haired woman said.

"Grandma, do you know what Pop is doing?" Ranma asked.

The blue-haired woman looked reluctant to answer. "Same as last time I'm afraid." Ranma looked upset. "I'm sorry. But you can still come live with me."

Ranma shook his head. "I can't. I'm mostly human so I can't live in the spirit realm for long without dying. You know that."

"Yeah, but I'll always offer. At least you have somewhere to stay now. I'll see you again my little Ranma." With that she took the haori off Nabiki, opened a gate to the spirit road, and disappeared inside.

"Think we'll see her again?" Nabiki asked while they left the office.

Ranma nodded. "Yeah, but there's no telling when. She can't do favors like this all the time. But that was a good idea you had."

Nabiki smiled. "Thanks, though it only worked because of you. Sure, I made the plan and notices, but you're the one who got them in the school so the teachers would see them and think of them as official. And with that incense your grandmother brought that Akane and Kuno didn't know they were smelling, if the real acting principal talks to them they'll both think _she_ was the one who told them what we did."

"So the request was granted and people will believe the clock-tower spirit is responsible and keep making donations?" Ranma asked.

"The timing alone should convince them, so don't worry about any lose of income." Nabiki said, opening the door to leave the school. "By the way, I was a bit surprised to see your grandma was Chinese, not Japanese. What's her name?"

"Cologne." Ranma answered. "But don't mention her age if you value your head."

Nabiki rubbed her scalp. "Too little too late."

_AN: to settle any confusion, there will be some OOCness throughout this story but that's because the circumstances here are different than in canon. Ranma here was raised mostly by his grandparents instead of Genma so he has no Neko-ken and is not as strong in martial arts as one might expect. Not right away at least. He has some martial arts skills but he's been trained to be a shinigami, not a man among men. He's also smarter because of his grandparent's influence and more level-headed. Nabiki is gentler to Ranma because there was no curse to scare her off this time and they have a common bond here of being able to see ghosts. So she's not going to be a mercenary first to the one person she feels she has something in common with. Shampoo is and always has been a cat, no Jusenkyo involved and no Amazon customs either. Akane's only real change is that since Ranma didn't show up as a girl she felt no desire to make an offer of friendship, and now there's no pressure of an engagement. She's on her guard regarding Ranma but in time that will let up and she'll be nicer. Cologne here is Ranma's grandmother, not Shampoo's, but she looks like her younger self rather than the version we know best, and she's a full shinigami. Other changes to these and other characters will be made apparent as the story progresses._


End file.
